Wanting You
by Sugar144
Summary: A story set at the end of hotel tango without them getting rescued. Drama breaks out at a new high and romance sets in. Can their friendships and more-than-friendships survive what's in store for them? major JM and ND maybe some ET
1. Chapter 1: Mel's Wisdom

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters**

Melissa sat on the beach enveloped in warm, welcoming sand. Deep inhale through her mouth quick exhale through her mouth. Over and over every time a wave was at full height she'd inhale and every time that same wave collapsed, she'd exhale. She was careful to keep this exact pattern. Melissa had found little games like this to amuse herself because of the never-ending boredom that sat in the air like a luminous cloud, which followed her everywhere she went. The only time she could narrowly escape this boredom is when she talked _or even looked_ at Jackson. Each time she did her heart would race and she'd feel light headed, like maybe she forgot to breathe. Half the time she talked to Jackson she did forget the breathe. She knew it was just a silly little crush but she was starting to get the feeling it wasn't so little anymore. It's like the more she got to know him the more of a mystery he was.

Melissa loved mysteries. When she was little she loved watching Scooby-doo, trying to figure out the culprit before the gang even knew. Most of the time she was victorious but when she wasn't, well, those were the best episodes. As she got older and learned to read chapter books Melissa checked out every Nancy Drew book in the library. Presently mystery themed books were still her favourite although she left the Nancy Drew series in her childhood. She read murder mysteries about rich counts and sly butlers. She found it unfair that the murder was almost always the maid. Was it really the maid's fault that she was angry that she had had a elicit affair with the rich count and when he said he'd run away with her, it was only to get into her pants? As Melissa basked in empathy for the maid who only wanted to love and be loved in return, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She whisked her head around to her Nathan smiling down on her.

"Oh, hey." Melissa said smiling politely up at him.

"Hey yourself" Nathan responded well taking a seat next to her in the sand. "Can I talk to you about something? Or someone?"

"Daley?" Melissa heard herself say in a weary voice. She didn't mean to seem uninterested it was just this was a topic Nathan used most of his time talking about, and probably the rest of his time thinking about.

"Yeah, her." Nathan said ignoring Melissa's lack of excitement over the chosen topic. "You see, I really like her and she likes me but um, I'm having some trouble waiting to date her after we get off the island."

"Nathan," Melissa said getting her whole body to face him to prepare for what she had to say. "When Daley admitted she liked you she said it'd be too weird to have a relationship on the island, remember? I know it's been a while since we've seen home and we don't exactly know when we will again, but you've just got to be patient because I have a feeling we won't be here for much longer. Besides, when Daley has an opinion about something, it's impossible to change it. I think that includes dating on the island."

"Yeah," Nathan sighed giving in to Melissa's logic. "You're right. It's just that we've been here for over a month and I'm just getting impatient."

"I know, and that's normal." Melissa coed well rubbing Nathan's back "If it's bothering you that much then just talk to Daley about it."

"Thanks Mel, you're the best!" Nathan said with a reassuring smile. He got out of the sand and practically ran back to camp.

_Good job Mel, now if only you could bestow such wisdom on yourself about Jackson._ Melissa kicked herself inwardly and continued to play her breathing game.

**A/N: Ok so I know this chapter was boring but it's just the introductory chapter. I promise I'll spice up the next chapter, that is, if you want me to keep on writing. I'm not quite sure if my writing is good so please comment and I'll keep writing. Send me a message if you've got a good idea about what could happen with Mel and Jackson.**


	2. Chapter 2: Swinging the Axe

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters. **

Jackson tapped his foot impatiently while looking around the camp for something to do. He scanned the whole area careful hoping that it would provide him with inspiration for a task he could do to help him escape his thoughts. Being stuck on the island, the only thing he'd really done is thought. He felt like a decaying old man lying on his deathbed looking back on all the accomplishments and disappointments of his own life. As the old man version of his self slowly washed away, his decomposing mind released memories of his so-called youth. Jackson himself never really had the opportunity to be young. He was always taking care of his mom or being whisked away from home to home just so he could get attached to another family he'd soon be taken away from. He started to stop caring all together. It just made things easier. His eyes reached the woodpile, which looked surprisingly small. With that he grabbed the camp knife and set off into the jungle.

"Hey, wait up!" a voice called from behind him. He turned and saw Taylor running to catch with him. He stood in place and waited for Taylor to catch up to him.

"Where are you going anyway?" She questioned as if the camp knife in his hand didn't make it obvious.

"To cut some fire wood." He answered coldly. She nodded while trying to catch her breath.

"Listen, can I talk to you… later. Now's clearly not a good time" She sighed signaling to the camp knife.

"Yeah, sure" Jackson agreed faintly while looking beyond Taylor at a tree that appeared to have good wood. Satisfied, Taylor walked back in the direction of camp and left Jackson to himself.

Jackson walked over to the tree he had been looking at and started hacking away at one of the branches. With every swing he got more momentum until the point where he was using his whole body in every swing. He put all his frustrations into detaching the branch from the tree. He thought about how he was so stupid as to go back to his old neighborhood and tell his 'friends' about the camping trip to Palau. _Swing._ He thought about that stupid storm had busted one of their engines causing them to crash_. Swing._ He recalled when Taylor and Eric had played Melissa's video diary for everyone to hear and the desperate look on her face before she ran off in embarrassment. _Swing._ He thought about the fact that he had literally drove Melissa off a cliff. _Swing_. He thought about the incident where Eric had played his video diary so they could judge if he was potentially dangerous. _Swing_. He thought about how just when he was starting to respect Taylor he realized that first intentions were sometimes right. _Swing_. With that final swing the branch broke off.

"Wow chief, take it easy!" Eric remarked with a smirk on his face coming up from behind him. Jackson quickly realized that he probably looked like a maniac the way he was swinging the knife so hard. He used to back of his hand to wipe off the sweat on his forehead while giving Eric a dirty look.

"Alright, alright. I get it. You wanna be alone. Jeez." Eric said defensively while throwing his arms up in the air in surrender. He turned away and started walking in the direction he had come from muttering something under his breath. Jackson rolled his eyes and started on his way back to camp.

"Hey Jackson" Melissa greeted him as he made his way into camp. She smiled sweetly in his direction and Jackson returned a weak smile back. Everyone one was gathered around the fire pit in preparation for dinner. Everyone except Eric that is.

"We're running low on fire wood. Did anyone get any today?" Daley questioned the whole group. Everyone shook their heads and just as Jackson was just about to speak up, he noticed he had left the branch he had worked so hard to cut off, back by the tree. He silently placed the knife by fire pit and took a seat next to Melissa. He bowed his head in disbelief in his own stupidity for not bringing back the branch.

"Well if it isn't the Texas Chainsaw Massacre?" Eric commented while smiling mischievously at Jackson. "Oh and Daley, I got this for the fire."

"Thanks Eric!" Daley beamed while Eric handed Daley a branch, _Jackson's branch_, and smiled as if he was gods gift to the world. Jackson tightened his fist so hard his knuckles went white but didn't say anything.

The rest of dinner was eaten in silence with nothing but the harmonized sounds of chewing and the final moan from Eric when he discovered he had devoured his dinner in less than five seconds flat. Jackson stole a couple glances at Melissa who seemed to be completely zoned out. He himself wasn't very hungry seeing as he was eating fruit and fish, a meal he'd been having three times a day for over a month. Give him a large pizza with everything on it and he probably would've been hungrier. When everyone finished dinner they all went their separate ways. Just as he was about to ask Melissa if they could talk Taylor pulled him a side.

"So, can we talk now?" She asked in an annoying tone.

"Yeah, ok" he said, his eyes still following Melissa.

"I just wanted to ask you where we stand." Taylor said boring into his eyes. Jackson was taken aback by her forwardness but quickly regained his posture.

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked trying his best to act dumb.

"You know what I mean. It's just it seems like you have to choose between me and Melissa and I just wanted to know where we stand right now." Taylor pushed. Jackson paused to think about how to answer the question. He didn't want to hurt Taylor's feelings nor did he want to make her angry. He pictured her turning into the hulk out of pure rage and squishing him like an ant. She'd yell at him and suddenly start going green. She'd grow bigger and bigger making him look simply insignificant. All this would happen without her ripping off her shirt like the original hulk of course.

"I don't know" Jackson said shaking his head and looking down. He then walked off to go about his business leaving Taylor answerless and alone. Little did Jackson know, Taylor was going to get a real answer out of him, whether he like it or not.

**A/N: Ok so here is my second chapter. Sorry to Jaylor fans for the lack of love but I'm more of a Jelissa fan myself. To the Naley fans there will defiantly be more to their story so you don't have to hold your breath. PLEASE comment if you want me to keep writing cause I still don't know where this story is going.**


	3. Chapter 3: All About Secrets and Cahoots

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters**

"Nathan…" Daley said quietly with a sad, apologetic ring to her voice. "You know we've talked about this before. A relationship the island would be… well, it just wouldn't work."

It was early morning just after breakfast. Just as everyone had departed to start on their chores Nathan had taken Melissa's advice and pulled Daley a side to talk. He had begun by making small talk about the weather and such then slowly gained the courage to ask Daley if they could start their relationship here, on the island. He knew Daley was apposed to it but he thought it would be worth a shot. Now that Daley had shot it down so quickly he was trying to think of something to say, something to convince her otherwise.

"Look Daley, I know that's what you think but can't we just give it a try?" Nathan pleaded with all his will. He didn't see Daley falter at all.

"Nathan look we just ca-" Daley was cut off by Nathan's lips being pressed against hers. She tried to fight him for a moment or two but finally gave in to Nathan's passionate kiss. They kissed for a good minute before breaking apart. Daley couldn't help smile when she met Nathan's eyes. "Maybe, we could have a relationship, just one that no one knew about."

"A secret relationship?" Nathan questioned. He paused to ponder it. "But why?"

"If we started openly dating it would just cause a lot of drama and that's the last think we need" Daley explained while making straight eye contact with Nathan. "It's better than nothing, right?"

"Yeah, ok." Nathan agreed, "So I'll see ya later, secret girlfriend?"

"Yeah, you will" Daley responded with a smile as big as Nathan's. She gave him a quick peck before heading back to camp to start on the laundry.

Taylor lay sprawled out on her towel in her best attempt to get some colour. She was thinking about the curt conversation she had had with Jackson after dinner last night. She recalled his quick, easy answer and his fast exit from their exchange. _How dare he?_ She quickly made up an excuse for him thinking maybe he was playing her hot and cold. Who knew, maybe that kind of thing got him hot. That must have been it, because Taylor had never been so openly blown off by a boy. Thank god no one was there to witness it. She was snapped out from her thoughts by some one stepping on her leg and nearly shatter her bone.

"Watch it!" Taylor snapped at the persecutor. Daley whipped her head around coming out of her daze and realizing she had just walked over Taylor's leg.

"Sorry!" Daley said coming back to reality. She had a goofy smile plastered on her face that didn't fade despite the angry look on Taylor face. Daley continued on her way down to the beach and kneeled down beside the place where they did their laundry then started washing the pile of clothes that lay beside it.

_It's not like Daley to be so careless, and what is with that smile?_ Taylor once again assumed for tanning position and contemplated why Daley was so happy_. Maybe Eric died, that'd certainly put a smile on Daley's face. _Taylor heard some yelling and looked over to her right. There see saw Lex and Eric arguing, very loudly, about something that probably wasn't even worth their time. _Guess that's a no to Eric's death_. The old Taylor would've instantly starting spying and sleuthing, trying to figure out why Daley was so happy. The new Taylor, the Taylor she is now, will just sit back and tend to her chores. Suddenly, Taylor had a brain blast. _Jackson doesn't like me anymore, because he likes the old Taylor! _With that Taylor was at her feet and running in Eric's direction. He was now alone since he had finished his argument with Lex, which he undoubtedly lost.

"Eric!" Taylor said getting his attention. He looked at her and saw something he had not seen on her in a while. She had a mischievous smile plastered on her face. "I need your help. Something's going on with Daley. She's all goofy and we need to find out why."

"Is she… cahooting?" Eric asked in a serious tone. He was welcoming the old Taylor back with open arms.

"Yup, and we gotta find out with who and what it's about." Taylor said with trouble radiating from her already. They both grinned at each other knowing that their latest mission was going to be fun.

**A/N: ok, I'm starting to see where this story is going and it's gonna be good so hang in there. PLEASE review because as fun as writing this is, I wanna know if people are enjoying it. The more you comment the faster I'll update.**


	4. Chapter 4: Bird Watching?

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of it's characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of it's characters**

It was just before noon and the sun was directly above camp. The unbearable heat was starting to get to Eric but he stayed in position just as Taylor had told him to. He was kneeling behind a bush watching Daley tend to the fire. The whole time he had been spying on her, he had not seen her do anything suspicious. He was scolding hold and bored out of his mind. So far this latest mission was a complete failure. He had seen a couple people walk through camp but Daley had not reacted to any of them. Just then Nathan walked to camp with a pile of fruit. Daley's face instantly brighten. Eric watched as Nathan talked in a hush tone and Daley's smile grew even larger. They started walking off into the jungle. _Bingo!_ Eric slowly got up trying to make as little noise as possible but came to a sudden hault at the sound of a twig snapping behind him. He turned around and saw Melissa looking at him with her arms crossed and a righteous look on her face.

"Eric… what are you doing?" She questioned while narrowing her eyes.

"Um, I was… bird watching!" He proclaimed straighten himself up.

"Do I look stupid to you?" Melissa asked getting frustrated. Eric tried his best not to answer the question for fear he would say something that wouldn't help him in this situation. Million of comebacks popped up in his head so he bit his lip to keep himself from blurting one of them out. "What are spying on?"

"Nothing!" Eric responded while motioning beyond him to an empty camp.

"Eric, if you're doing what I think your doing, I suggest you stop." Melissa stated in her best authority ridden tone of voice.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Eric asked innocently opening his eyes as wide as they would go. Taylor was going to kill him if he comprised the mission. Melissa gave him an I'm-watching-you look and wandered back into the jungle. Eric sighed in relief then made his way to the beach to report to Taylor what he had just seen.

Lex walked into camp to see absolutely nothing. No one was there. No food was cooking. His stomach grumbled telling him that it was lunchtime. He looked at his watch, which read 11:45. Normally at this time they would all be gathered around the fire pit eating. _Where is everyone?_ He jogged down to the beach and saw Taylor and Eric grinning and talking. He looked over to the rocks and saw Jackson on his way back to camp carrying some fish in hand. Where were Daley, Melissa, and Nathan? He ran up to where they kept the video camera and saw it to be missing.

"Have you guys seen Melissa, Nathan, and Daley?" Lex question Eric and Taylor.

"Well," Taylor replied with an evil grin on her face. Something told Lex she was going to say something he didn't want to hear. "Eric saw Nathan and Daley trudging out into the wilderness together. As for Melissa, she's probably making a entry into her video diary."

"Why would Daley and Nathan go out into the jungle right before lunch?" Lex asked mainly to himself. Taylor and Eric shrugged and smiled as if they were wondering the exact same thing. Jackson walked up to the group and looked around curiously.

"Hey, I got some fish. Where is everyone?" He asked looking around the beach and through the trees at their camp.

"That's exactly what we're trying to find out." Lex answered simply.

"Hey guys! What's happening?" Melissa asked the cluster of survivors while jogging out from the tree bordering the beach.

"Did you see Nathan and Daley I the jungle?" Jackson asked Melissa in a worried tone.

"No why? Is something wrong?" Melissa interrogated the group looking in every person's eyes as though the answer may be hidden somewhere in them.

"It's quarter to twelve. Usually we'd be eating lunch by now and Nathan and Daley are nowhere to be found." Lex proclaimed while starting to walk back to camp. Everyone followed suit and walked up the beach back to the fire pit. They all sat down while Jackson started to cook the fish.

"Hey! Is lunch almost ready?" Nathan asked strutting back to camp with Daley a couple feet behind him.

"Oh my god hey!" Melissa blurting out walking towards the two of them "We didn't know where you two were. We were starting to get worried!"

"Oh, that was my bad." Daley explained to the group. "You see, I asked Nathan to come with me to collect some fire wood. We got lost and couldn't find our way back. We had to use the firewood as a reminder that we had went in a certain direction."

"Like Hansel and Gretel!" Nathan pronounced proudly.

"Oh well, that's ok. As long as you're safe…" Melissa stated smiling sweetly at the two if them. Daley and Nathan took seats on opposite sides of fire pit.

"Fish is ready!" Jackson announced. They all took some of the fish and started eating. Jackson looked back and forth between Daley and Nathan, not fully believing their story. They were both flushed and had matching chapped lips. Jackson had an idea about what they were doing in the jungle but kept it to him self. It was only a matter of time before Taylor and Eric figured out what they were doing and ate them alive. Little did Jackson know it might be sooner than later…

**A/N: ooohh it's getting juicy! Ok so there is obviously gonna be a confrontation about Daley and Nathan but little do you people know but there will also be a confrontation about a certain love triangle too. Review, review, review! I love the feedback and it's good inspiration for my writing!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Lonely Detective

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of it's characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of it's characters.**

Nathan watched Daley work from afar, letting a small smile appear on his face. _Being Daley's secret boyfriend was turning out great!_ Today they got a little carried away doing, well, what a boyfriend and girlfriend do when no ones around and lost track of time. On the way back to camp they decided on telling the group that they had gotten lost. It was such an easy lie that it made Nathan feel guilty but he didn't let it show to Daley. It was killing him inside not to let Melissa know about them. Things got around fast on the island. He loved Mel but last time he told her something about Daley she blurted it out the whole camp. This was a secret he couldn't even trust Melissa with.

"Hey, what are you smiling about?" Melissa asked in her best attempt of channeling one of the detectives she read about in her novels. Nathan's smiling disappeared and he had an expression on his face as though he had been caught red-handed.

"Um, ah, nothing." Nathan stuttered. With that he got up headed towards the beach. Melissa watched him flea the scene of the offense. _Guess my detective impression was a little too good._

Melissa walked over to the fire and sorted through all the pieces of charcoal. She tested the darkness and width of each piece on the back of her hand until she found the perfect piece. She then grabbed her notepad and sat down on the shelter Lex had built. She started to sketch the camp, including Daley filtering some water. _Was Nathan watching Daley? I mean she is the only one in camp._ Melissa shrugged it off thinking it would be normal for Nathan to be smiling in Daley's direction if he liked her so much. She continued to sketch the camp and let her mind wander off.

"Wow, that's really good." A voice said tickling her neck with their breath. This statement broke Melissa's short tranquility and made her jump a little. She turned her head around and saw Eric looking at her drawing over her shoulder. He flashed her a smile then picked up the water jugs he'd been carrying and brought them over to the fire pit.

"Th-thanks" Melissa responded stuttering a bit out of the surprise that Eric would ever give her a compliment.

"Don't mention it." Eric replied. _Ok, what was Eric up to?_ Melissa stopped her self from accusing him and realized she'd been doing a lot of that lately. _Just take the compliment Melissa. _She returned to her drawing but she was still thinking about what Eric had said.

Eric picked up two empty water jugs and headed back down the path to the well. He felt bad that all it took was one compliment to win Melissa back over. He wasn't totally scummy, I mean, he did mean it about her drawing. It was really good. Eric remembered back to when he had had a giant crush on her through out elementary school and middle school. Some times when he looked at her he felt those old feelings would rise up again. As soon as they would he'd just push them back down. He didn't mean to make his feelings for her sound like heartburn but they were an inconvenience. He remembered that sick feeling in his stomach he got after he had seen Melissa's face when he and Taylor played her video diary. He just smiled along with Taylor but he secretly couldn't bring himself to look at Melissa's reaction.

"Hey, have you seen Melissa?" Jackson asked Eric snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. She's back at camp." Eric couldn't help but feel a little protective of Melissa when it came to Jackson. Funny he would feel that way when he was the one that hurt Melissa and Jackson had been the one who scolded him for it. Jackson made his way back to camp and left Eric with just two empty water jugs and his thoughts to keep him company.

"Hey Mel, can I talk to you?" Jackson asked Melissa cautiously. He didn't want to screw this up.

"Sure." Melissa responded abandoning her drawing and walking with him down to an empty part of the beach.

"Look, since we've crashed everything's gotten… complicated." Jackson explained as best he could.

"No kidding." Melissa said with a sarcastic ring to her voice. _Damn it Eric!_ His sarcasm seemed to be contagious.

"I just wanted you to know tha-"

"Did you tell her about us yet?" Taylor asked coming up beside Jackson. Just as Jackson was about to protest to Taylor's comment he was cut off again but this time it was by Melissa.

"Us?" She echoed in confusion. The statement started to sink in and all she could do was let out all her frustration with the situation. "US? You took me out here to confront me about you and Taylor's relationship?! Well spare your breath Jackson. I knew about you guys long before you even told me."

"But I…" Before Jackson could even find the words to tell her how wrong she was and how Taylor was saying words with absolutely no substance Melissa stormed back to camp.

"I didn't think she'd take it that hard." Taylor pouted looking at Jackson for some sympathy. All Jackson could do was stand there shocked retracing how exactly that conversation had played out. "I'll go find her and try and calm her down."

_What the fuck just happened?_ Jackson stood paralyzed watching Taylor run off to find Melissa. Jackson had intended to tell Melissa how he felt about her, about how he wanted them to be together. _What the hell could go wrong next??_

**A/N: What's Jackson gonna do now? And what about Daley and Nathan, they can't keep their secret forever! Guess you'll just have to review so I update faster… **


	6. Chapter 6: An Epic Love Story

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters**

"Please, wait Mel!" Taylor pleaded trying her best to keep up with Melissa's sprint. "Let me explain!"

"Explain what?" Melissa hissed at Taylor coming to a sudden stop. Taylor almost collided with Melissa because she had not realized she had stopped running. Thank god she hadn't or else Melissa may have mistaken it for a tackle.

"Me and Jackson I mean." Taylor explained gasping for air. Melissa visibly flinched at the term 'me and Jackson' but Taylor didn't see it.

"What is there to explain?" Melissa asked crossing her arms. She tried her best not to let her voice shake and to act strong. The ruse was working so far.

"Look Melissa, we never meant to hurt you! I knew you liked him but we just made a… connection." Taylor breathed as though she was telling an epic love story. Melissa really wished she'd stop using the word 'we'.

Melissa was stunned at the nerve Taylor had to tell her all about her grand romance she had been having with Jackson. She should be begging for forgiveness, not tell me what I'm missing! She felt pure hate towards Taylor for being such a cold bitch. What did she feel towards Jackson? She tried to feel mad at him but she couldn't. She felt astonished, she'd never put him down to be the kind of guy to fall for Taylor and try and keep herself laboring under the illusion that they'd be together once they got off the island. She felt disappointed and betrayed. Ashamed that she had let herself fall under his spell. They had both pulled the wool over her eyes. They seemed more perfect for each other by the minute.

"Then I'm happy for you two Taylor." Melissa said with her best fake smile. She was hoping Taylor wouldn't notice how tight and forced the smile was. She didn't notice, she just smiled along. She was Taylor after all.

"Really? Oh that's great!" Taylor exclaimed jumping for joy. She paused and added; "You sure you're ok?"

"Of course. Besides, you guys are so cute together." Melissa forced through gritted teeth behind her fake closed mouth smile. The last part was especially hard to say. If Melissa had not withdrew and yelled at Taylor for being a selfish brat, they'd be here forever. At least this way Melissa didn't have to listen to her screechy voice a moment longer.

"Thanks! You coming back to camp?" Taylor asked with a big grin on her face still under the impression that she had changed Melissa's opinion with pure love. Taylor was a true romantic at heart and was really into corny stuff like that.

"Nah, I'm gonna hang back here for a while." Melissa answered in an attempt to get rid of Taylor. Taylor was eager to comply. She nodded and headed back to camp. Finally she left Melissa alone.

Lex was not one who understood drama. He was brilliant at math and had a strong knack for science. He was considered a genius by his peers and was considered a pre-developed academic mind by his teachers. He had tons of common sense and the ability to problem solve on the spot. With all of that considered he couldn't ever decipher what was happening with all the teenagers. They seemed to be a whole other species to him. They had a way of making everything look perfectly normal on the surface. Like the time they had all found out Nathan had a crush on Daley. He had not known anything they revealed although it was considered to be common knowledge. Lex was not one who understood drama, but when he saw Melissa run through camp with a furious look on her face and say Taylor chasing after her, he knew something was up.

"Hey Day," Lex began keeping his eyes fixed on the two sprinting girls. "What's up with Taylor and Melissa?"

"I don't know, but something tells me we're going to find out soon." Daley responding now also watching Melissa and Taylor disappear into the jungle.

Lex looked at his sister with a worried expression on his face. _This is not going to be good._ Drama was the last thing they needed. Just then Lex watched Jackson walk into camp. He sat down next to the fire taking over Melissa's job filtering the water. He had a solemn expression on his face as though he had given up hope on something. _But what? Ok Lex, think! Jackson is taking over Melissa's job so he must know she's upset and needs some time. Why would he know that? Did he cause her distress? Is he taking her job out of guilt? And what has Taylor got to do with it?_ Lex neatly organized his thoughts. He decided that Jackson had gotten Melissa upset and that's why he took over her job. _Could it have anything to do with the crush Melissa has on Jackson? Maybe Jackson told her that he didn't like her and now he feels guilty. Yeah! That works!_ Lex thought he had it figured out but realized he had to factor in Taylor. _Wait, maybe Jackson and Taylor made Mel upset. Maybe Jackson told Mel he didn't like her because HE'S INLOVE WITH TAYLOR!_

"Lex, are you okay?" Daley questioned her brother cautiously. He jumped a bit because he was so buried in his thoughts. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Somebody's gonna become a ghost if I don't do something!" Lex stated quietly. He abruptly got up and started running into the jungle like a mad man.

"Wait Lex! What are you talking about?" Daley yelled after him. Lex ran so fast he generated a wind in his wake that gently flew over the camp.

Daley sat on the shelter next to where her brother used to be with nothing but confusion. She had never seen her brother get so hysterical. He ran in the exact same direction as Melissa and Taylor did. _Why? Who was gonna become a ghost?_ Daley's thoughts bounced around in her head making her feel like a basket case for dwelling on the words of a 10 year old. All her thoughts could be summed up into just one thought; _WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED??_

**A/N: It's starting to get close to the climax. There wasn't any Naley in this chapter but I thought since I meant for this story to be mostly Jelissa I should focus on it a little more. Next chapter will surly have Naley though! Please review if you want my daily updates to continue.**


	7. Chapter 7: Build Up and Shot Down

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters**

Melissa Wu sat with her back up against a palm tree plotting to kill Taylor and Jackson. The tree was uncomfortable and was starting to chafe her skin. She tried her best to get comfortable but her attempts were in vain. She would have gotten up and simply found a comfier spot but she couldn't walk for fear she'd fall on her face. Her whole entire body felt like Jello. It wasn't even the delicious raspberry flavour of Jello. No, it was the mango flavour of Jello, the kind that made her stomach turn. So in addition to feeling anything but poise she also had an uneasy stomach. Her mind kept running through the events as if they were a series of pictures. The first picture was Jackson, politely asking herself to talk and bringing a smile to her face but the very sight of him. The next picture was Jackson hesitantly jumping around a subject and herself trying to grasp was he was trying to tell her. The picture after that one was when everything went wrong. When Taylor popped into their conversation and asked Jackson if he had told her about 'them'. Melissa mentally ripped up that picture in her mind. After ripping it up she burned the pieces. She then took the ashes and buried them in the back of her mind. _Just forget Melissa._

"Hey, are you ok?" A voice asked disturbing her thoughts. She looked up and saw Lex towering over her. He offered her a smile and sat beside her ready to hear a detailed response.

"Yeah, I'm ok." Melissa sighed refraining as long as she could from telling the truth.

"Why was Taylor chasing after you?" Lex asked clearly not giving up easily.

"Something happened between me, her, and Jackson." Melissa answered vaguely. Although Melissa believed she was giving out as little information as possible, her answer proved all of Lex's theories.

"It's gonna be ok Melissa," Lex cooed patting shoulder. "It'll all work out."

"Yeah, I guess so." Melissa said quietly. She didn't quite believe it yet. Lex felt horrible for Melissa because he knew how much she liked Jackson. He always stood up for Jackson but he was mad at him for making Melissa upset.

"You're strong, you'll get through this." Lex stated with absolute belief in his words. He was pretty convincing because Melissa started to believe him too. She nodded and gave him a weak smile. Lex got up and headed back to camp. He felt he did a good job.

Nathan walked towards camp with purpose. He spotted Daley and headed towards her. As he got closer he saw the confused look on her face. Daley was not some one who usually let her expressions show on her face. Nathan knew something was up. He approached her cautiously and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, hey Nathan." She breathed, pushing a way all her thoughts and focusing on her boyfriend.

"Hey, are you ok?" He asked her, relieved that the confused look on her face had gone away.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Daley assured him.

"Good. I was just wandering if you'd like to, ah, collect some fruit with me?" Nathan asked Daley, of course meaning if they could go make out in their secret clearing.

"Yeah, sure." Daley beamed, hoping this would keep her mind off of her brother's odd behavior.

Jackson watched the two lovebirds set off into the jungle together and couldn't help but feel a ping of jealousy towards them. They were so blissful and worriless. _They were so Taylor-less._ He and Taylor had become friends on the island so he felt guilty for thinking such thoughts. _Friends. That's what they were!_ Taylor had taken it a whole other way and had screwed everything up with Melissa. Right now they were probably biting each other's heads off in the jungle. Jackson had taken over Melissa's water filtering job knowing that she probably wouldn't be back in a while. After all, this whole situation was his fault. No, it had not been his idea for Taylor to barge into their conversation and ruin everything but maybe he made her think he wanted her to. Flirting with Taylor had been short lived and only under the influence of utter confusion. Jackson was too scared to face how he felt about Melissa because what he felt was too strong. He decided to take the coward's way out and hang out with Taylor. He had now come to terms with how he felt about Melissa and feared it was too late.

"Hey Jackson!" Taylor exclaimed walked out of a cluster of trees. "So I talked to Melissa and she's totally cool with us!"

"Us? There is no us, Taylor!" Jackson couldn't help raise his voice out of frustration with her. There was no one in camp so he took the liberty of being completely truthful and a little brutal.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Taylor asked him astonished at his sudden rage.

"I mean we're not a couple! I mean that I don't like you, in that way." Jackson shouted despite the hurt look on Taylor's face.

"Then why'd you tell Melissa we were?" Taylor shot back annoyed that Jackson had the nerve to talk to her like that.

"I didn't tell Melissa that, you did!" Jackson yelled. Taylor was quiet for second trying to process the information Jackson had given her.

"So if you weren't telling her about me and you, then what were you gonna say?" Taylor asked confused out of her wits.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore." Jackson replied in defeat. With that he stormed out of camp not looking back once.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! I'm kind of mad at myself for being so mean to Taylor but I guess that's just karma. Please review and tell me if you think I should add something or have ideas. Or you could just rave about how good this story is and my wonderful writing, that works too.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Comeback of the Orignal

Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

**Disclaimer – I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters**

Eric hid behind trees keeping a reasonable distance from Daley and Nathan. He had seen many fruit trees on their way to where ever they were going, but they had not cast one glance at them. They were defiantly not in the jungle to collect fruit. _So what were they doing?_ Eric had been spying on them in camp and as soon as they departed he had followed them. _Taylor is gonna love me for this!_ They walked through a couple trees and came to what looked like a clearing. Eric was about to come out and tell them their evil plot had been foiled but suddenly their lips collided and they seemed to be making out. Eric cringed. _Ew!_ He instantly ran in the other direction trying his best to get as far away as he could. He tripped on a root but picked himself back up and kept running. Nathan and Daley heard a sound from behind the trees and broke apart. Nathan stepped into the jungle and looked around. He saw nothing and assumed a tree branch had snapped and fallen on the ground causing the sound. Daley on the other hand was freaking out. She couldn't shake the feeling the some one had seen them kissing and ran for it. _What if it was Lex? He did depart for the jungle some time ago!_

"What are we gonna do Nathan, some body knows!" Daley said pacing back and forth.

"Nobody knows Daley," Nathan smiled thinking her neurotic behavior was actually kind of cute. "I'm sure it was just a branch snapping or some kind of animal. Remember that pig we tried to catch? It was probably just him coming to say hello."

"Yeah, I guess." Daley lied still thinking it was Lex. He was the only one it could be. Everyone was tending to their jobs except Mel, Taylor and Lex. Melissa and Taylor had run off in a complete different direction. It had to be Lex. Daley just smiled and her and Nathan went at it again.

Eric arrived back at camp totally out of breath. He wanted nothing more to get the hell out of there. _I mean, Daley and Nathan? Ew._ He looked around camp and saw Taylor, sitting on the shelter with her pouting face on. She was the only one in camp so Eric took this opportunity to tell her what he saw. He knew if anything could cheer her up it was this. _What would make her so down anyways?_ Eric knew the answer to that. Ever since Taylor had used up all the lighter fluid and everything was put into a more serious perspective, Taylor had become very friendly with Jackson. Eric knew what it looked like when Taylor liked a boy. She'd giggle at things he said and find small ways to touch him. Like at dinner a couple of nights ago when her and Jackson were sitting together she was giggling and she lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. Eric couldn't help but feel his stomach knot when he saw Melissa's face after Jackson and Taylor had been flirting. There was undoubtedly some trouble in paradise for Jackson and Taylor and that's why she was pouting.

"You will never believe what Daley and Nathan were doing!" Eric told Taylor with an evil grin lighting up his face. Taylor looked up recognizing that grin, knowing he had something good to say.

"What?" Taylor asked curiously.

"They were totally making out! They walked out into a clearing and I followed them. Then all of a sudden BAM! It happened!" Eric explained using hand gestures to stir up Taylor's excitement. Even in a time of grief major gossip could make Taylor smile.

'Really?" She asked smiling her devilish smile. She stood up beside him to get a good look at his face to see if he was lying. He clearly wasn't.

"Really, I saw it all!" Eric pronounced proudly. "Well not all of it, I kinda ran away because it was Daley and Nathan making out after all."

"So how are we going to use this information to our advantage?" Taylor asked in a rhetorical way, already knowing exactly what she was going to do. It was dinner soon and she'd be sure they had dinner and a show. It was time for Jackson to fall in love with the old Taylor, the cherished original.

**A/N: Oh, cliffhanger! This was a really short chapter because dinner is gonna be drama filled up to the brim. Please review and give me ideas of what should happen at dinner. Are you liking the story so far?**


	9. Chapter 9: Dinner Party Shake Up

Disclaimer- I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

Taylor walked over to the fire pit in a confident strut. She had every thing under control. Everyone sat around the fire watching as the final touches were put on dinner. Jackson cut the fish into equal sections and distributed them to everyone. Taylor danced over and took her fish and fruit and sat down next to Eric. They exchanged knowing glances and started on their dinner. Everyone was silent as they picked at their dinner, no one quite hungry for another meal of fish and fruit. Everyone except Eric that is. He hungrily scarfed down his fish and fruit as usual. Everyone was so silent; Taylor almost had second thoughts about launching her plan. She would certainly harsh everybody's mellow in a matter of seconds. Although her plan had promise of being catastrophic, it was necessary. She wanted Jackson more than she had ever wanted any other boy. She knew Jackson wanted her back, he just wanted the old Taylor; the fun-loving-responsibility-lacking-valley-girl.

Daley nervously looked around the fire pit in hopes of recognizing a hint as to who was spying on her and Nathan making out. Nathan could blame the mysterious sound on a branch or an animal or the wind or whatever he wanted but she knew it was a person. She knew it was Lex. She studied his face and only saw one thing: concern. He occasionally glanced over at Melissa. Why is he looking at Mel? What does she have to do with this? Daley then focused on Mel's face and saw despair. Did Lex tell Melissa what he saw? Is she depressed because Nathan had kept such a huge secret from her? Daley felt queasy at the thought of destroying or so much as tainting Nathan and Melissa's friendship. They had always been so inseparable and dependable on each other. It seemed now that Daley was tearing them apart. She finally looked up at Taylor, who accompanied an evil grin.

"I have an announcement." Taylor stated as she stood up and smiled.

"An announcement?" Lex echoed in curiosity.

"Yes, that's what I said!" Taylor snapped. "More of a toast, actually."

"A toast?" Melissa questioned. She paused and thought about it. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened recently_. Well, other than getting my heart squished and Taylor and Jackson getting together_. _Wait, was Taylor making a toast to her and Jackson?_

"Yes! A toast!" Taylor smiled at the sound of it. "To Daley and Nathan!"

"Wait, what?" Nathan asked immediately standing also. This could not be good. "Why?"

"Eric saw you guys; it's not a secret anymore." Taylor answered still smiling with fake sincerity.

"Saw you guys what?" Jackson asked even though he already knew the answer. He looked over at Daley who seemed to be mortified whereas Nathan just looked pissed.

"Hooking up." Taylor said letting her sincere smile morph into an evil grin.

"Daley, is this true?" Lex asked his sister. Daley carefully nodded her head avoiding eye contact with anyone. Melissa threw a hurt look at Nathan.

"How could you not tell me?" Melissa asked in a barely audible whisper. Her eyes where glued to the fire, her mind calculating. Nathan was too astonished by the current situation to muster up any words in return.

"I- I have to-" Daley's voice quivered. She turned away from the fire and stoked into the woods. She was too embarrassed, too angry, too shaken, to deal with Taylor right now. Without hesitation Nathan chased after her, to undoubtedly do his boyfriend duty to sooth her in her time of pain.

"There they go again" Eric smirked watching the two of them disappear into the jungle. Taylor snickered at his remark.

"Why, Taylor?" Jackson asked forcefully. "What benefit do you get from this?"

"I…" Taylor managed to get out. Why was Jackson so angry? Wasn't he supposed to be praising her for this? Instead he looked every bit as angry as when he was rejecting her.

Melissa looked curiously between Taylor and Jackson, as did Lex. They both recognized Jackson's behaviour towards Taylor as less than kind, to the point of brutality, and certainly not the way for a boyfriend to act. Taylor looked genuinely surprised at Jackson's reaction. The whole situation just got more and more confusing to Lex. First, Jackson was dumping Melissa because he was in love with Taylor. Now, he was openly criticizing Taylor's less than moral actions. Lex was still astonished that Taylor would be so malicious as to publicly embarrass Daley and Nathan. Lex was even more confused in what exactly Jackson had seen in Taylor (mean didn't seem like Jackson's type) and if what he had seen, was an illusion of Taylor's that had just been destroyed.

"Just forget it Taylor." Jackson huffed, and stormed down to the beach.

Taylor, Eric, Melissa, and Lex were left at the firepit, none of which really knew what had just happened and why. Each knew their own tid-bit of information, which combined, might make sense, but alone where just questions in themselves.

**A/N: Sorry that took half a year to write. I don't know why but I was having a MAJOR case of writers block. Well, better late then never, right? ****I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations. I couldn't help but not be completely satisfied with it but I decided it was time I update. Please review so I have to urge to start to update this story regularly again. School and shit tends to get in the way but I'll try my best.**


	10. Chapter 10: The Apologetic Ass

Disclaimer- I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

Jackson unceremoniously dropped his body into the cool sand. It was somewhere around six thirty or seven so the sun was starting to set. He lazily arranged his legs so he was cross-legged and brought his guitar into his lap then started strumming a couple of chords. Playing his guitar had always given him peace of mind. Even after the whole fiasco with his mom and his inevitable admission to the foster care system, Jackson was able to relax with the help of the peaceful melodies he could play. The random chords he was playing morphed into his favourite song and he started to sing.

_He woke up from dreaming and put on his shoes  
Started making his way past two in the morning  
He hasn't been sober for days_

Leaning now into the breeze  
Remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees  
They had breakfast together  
But two eggs don't last  
Like the feeling of what he needs

Now this place seems familiar to him  
She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin  
She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs  
Left him dying to get in

Forgive me, I'm trying to find  
My calling, I'm calling at night  
I don't mean to be a bother,  
But have you seen this girl?  
She's been running through my dreams  
And it's driving me crazy, it seems  
I'm gonna ask her to marry me

Even though she doesn't believe in love,  
He's determined to call her bluff  
Who could deny these butterflies?  
They're filling his gut

Waking the neighbors, unfamiliar faces  
He pleads, oh he tries  
But he's only denied  
Now he's dying to get inside

Forgive me, I'm trying to find  
My calling, I'm calling at night  
I don't mean to be a bother,  
But have you seen this girl?  
She's been running through my dreams  
And it's driving me crazy, it seems  
I'm gonna ask her to marry me

The neighbors said she moved away  
Funny how it rained all day  
I didn't think much of it then  
But it's starting to all make sense  
Oh, I can see now that all of these clouds  
Are following me in my desperate endeavor  
To find my whoever, wherever she may be

I'm not coming back, (forgive me)  
I've done something so terrible  
I'm terrified to speak, (I'm not calling, I'm not calling)  
But you'd expect that from me  
I'm mixed up, I'll be blunt;  
Now the rain is just (you're driving me crazy, I'm)  
Washing you out of my hair and out of my mind  
Keeping an eye on the world,  
So many thousands of feet off the ground  
I'm over you now  
I'm at home in the clouds  
Towering over your head

Well I guess I'll go home now  
I guess I'll go home now  
I guess I'll go home now  
I guess I'll go home

Jackson instantly felt better. The therapeutic melody had made him able to forget the whole dinner incident. He placed his guitar beside him and watched the sunset with a new sense of tranquility.

Melissa watched Jackson play his guitar from a far. She had quietly excused herself from dinner a while after Jackson stormed off, leaving her in the company of just Taylor, Lex, and Eric. She watched elusively from the tree line bordering the beach, just out of hearing distance. Although she couldn't hear exactly what Jackson was playing, she could hear the dull whisper of his beautiful voice accompanied by his wonderful guitar playing. She couldn't help but swoon at his immense musical talent. _What the hell are you doing Mel?_ She inwardly kicked herself and walked back to the campsite. I mean, what was wrong with her? Did she want to get her heart broken again? Jackson and Taylor were together. _I mean sure, they had a little bit of a fight, or whatever that was, but that doesn't meant he's gonna come running to me, begging me for forgiveness and telling me how big a mistake it was to choose some hateful hag over me. _Needless to say, Melissa had to get over it. She came to camp to see just Eric sitting at the fire pit. She hesitated then decided to go over to him.

"Hey." Melissa said timidly, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey," Eric said, still staring into the fire. "That was some dinner, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." Melissa answered. She was still thinking of what happened with Taylor and Jackson but decided she had to do her best friend duty. "I think it's really awful, what you did to Nathan and Daley."

"Yeah I know, it was pretty crappy."

"You know what Er-" Melissa stopped herself midsentence then reassessed. "Wait, what?"

Eric sighed then offered; "Look, I know I'm an ass most of the time but I really do feel bad about it. Taylor had ulterior motives and as soon as I realized it it was too late. I know even Nathan and Daley don't deserve such blunt embarrassment."

"Wow Eric, I really didn't expect you to say that." Melissa admitted.

"People with surprise you." Eric said with a half smile, as if remembering a joke he had once heard.

"Clearly," Melissa said in a dazed voice, still phased by Eric sudden decision to start taking responsibilities for his actions.

Taylor had made mistakes before. Once, when doing her usual queen bee duties, she had ordered a lock out on a girl named Rebecca Gilmore. She was a member of the cheer squad and an active member on the student council. Apperantly, she had been flirting with Taylor's current boyfriend Nathan (yes, Nathan McHugh) at all the student council meetings and was supposedly about to make a move on him before Taylor's friend Stacy had walked in on them hanging around in one of the classrooms after a meeting. So Taylor's natural reaction was to order a lock out on her. That meant that nobody, at least nobody important, could talk to Rebecca. Her social resources would be cut off and she would be nothing. She even got Ashley, cheer caption, to kick her off the squad. But as it turned out, Stacy had only told Taylor the thing about Rebecca and Nathan because she wanted Rebecca's spot on the cheer team. When Taylor gained this knowledge she had two choices: admit she was wrong to everyone and get Rebecca back on the team but look like a loose cannon, ordering lock outs without evidence, or, she could pretend she didn't know and poor Rebecca would be punished for nothing. She chose the easy way out and is still queen bee to this date.

So when Taylor was faced with the choice of either admitting what she did to Nathan and Daley was wrong to everyone and look like a cold bitch or, pretend she actually thought she was doing them a favour; it was a piece of cake. She would play dumb (as usual) and let the whole thing blow over. And hey, maybe she'd still Melissa's I'm-so-innocent act and try it out on Jackson. It was the perfect solution to the perfect catastrophe. Now all she had to do was put it into play!

**A/N: I hope that chapter wasn't too dull for you. It was really just some aftermath to what happened at dinner. Oh and don't worry, I've got some juicy stuff lined up for the next couple of chapters. I'm talking about good old fashion jealousy and angst. So review, review, review so the chapters come quicker! Oh and PS to those of you who wanted to know, the song Jackson sang in this chapter is called Remembering Sunday by All Time Low. It's a great one; I suggest you download it. **


	11. Chapter 11: Major PMS Much?

Disclaimer- I don't flight 29 down or any of its characters

Nathan awoke with a smile on his face. In spite of the drama that had unfolded last night; he was happy. After he'd chased after Daley he explained to her that no matter what Taylor and Eric would throw at them, he'd always be there for her. She had smiled and pulled him into a long, warm hug. She then proceeded to tell him that she was glad that she had someone as loyal and brave as himself to be looking out for her. Nathan simply told her that that's what boyfriends do. It was a definite defining moment in their relationship so far and as mad as he was at Taylor and Eric, he couldn't help but feel a little thankful for the nudge.

"What the hell are you grinning for?" An angelic voice broke Nathan's thoughts. He looked over and saw Daley looking at him quizzically.

"Should I not be grinning?" Nathan asked nervously. The last thing he wanted to do was offend Daley in some way and get her mad.

"Of course you shouldn't be grinning!" Daley boomed. "Don't you remember what happened last night?"

"Yeah," Nathan said letting a small smile sneak onto his face. The memory of Daley's gratitude towards his valiant actions was unforgettable to him.

"Taylor and Eric totally told everyone about us and ruined everything!" Daley continued oblivious to Nathan reminiscent smile.

"Wait, what?" Nathan questioned. "That's what you were thinking of?"

"Of course," Daley said now confused. "What were you thinking of?"

Nathan blushed briefly then amended; "Um, nothing, it doesn't matter." Nathan paused then added, "I'm gonna go out to the fire pit and get some breakfast."

Daley was left alone in the plane wondering what Nathan had been thinking of_. It had to of been something that happened last night, but all that really happened last night was Taylor and Eric telling everyone about us. Oh and there was our talk in the jungle after I ran away but that was basically just him reassuring me and me making a total fool of myself. I really don't think he'd be remembering that fondly. _She paused then rewound. It was obviously not their talk so it had to be something else. But the only something else was the drama at dinner. _Was that what he was remembering so fondly? But why? He was so pissed about it when it happened. Maybe that had just been his initial reaction; maybe he was actually happy about everyone knowing. How could everyone knowing make him happy?! What a hypocrite! _He had told her what they had done was awful and that he was upset about it too. He lied to her and Daley hated liars.

Nathan walked out to the fire pit and saw everyone sitting around the fir pit except for Daley. Closet to him he saw Jackson stoking the fire while having a conversation with Lex. On the other side he was Taylor sitting alone looking remorseful or at least, trying to look remorseful. He had dated Taylor after all so he knew how to tell when she was acting. To Taylor's right on the north side of the fire he saw Melissa and Eric sitting together and talking. _Wait, what? Melissa was talking to Eric the morning after he publicly embarrassed her best friend? And since when did they talk anyway?_ Nathan took a seat on the south side of the fire, sitting opposite to Eric and his so-called best friend.

"Morning Nathan," Melissa greeted him with her signature toothy smile as he sat down. He only grunted in response. Melissa looked at him with a confused expression then remembered that he didn't know Eric felt so guilty about what he had done. She'd tell him later.

Lex looked at Nathan with sympathy. He too had no idea why Melissa was suddenly being so friendly with Eric, especially after he had done last night to Nathan and Daley. The plot just kept on thickening with the teenagers and needless to say, Lex was having trouble keeping up. He could say with confidence though that Taylor and Jackson had broken up or taken a break or whatever they chose to call it. Jackson had not spared Taylor one glance this morning. It was a no brainer to Lex that they weren't on the best terms. Taylor, on the other hand, would look over at Jackson every couple of minutes or so. It was like clockwork. Jackson would look over at Eric and Melissa every time they shared a laugh. Lex wondered if he was looking at them out of regret; regret for choosing Taylor over Melissa. Lex doubted it though because Jackson seemed like the kind of guy who thought things out before pursuing them.

Daley came out of the plane looking rather pissed. Nathan looked up at her, smiled, and waved her over to him. Daley gave him a cold look and went to sit a couple feet away from Taylor on the east side of the fire. Nathan was flabbergasted. _What the hell did I do? Maybe she's just on her period or something. _Everyone look curiously between them. Clearly there was trouble in paradise already.

"Breakfast is ready!" Lex announced giving everyone some fruit and a piece of the fish Jackson had caught the previous day. Everyone hungrily dug in because nobody had eaten much last night and were quite hungry this morning. That and they just wanted to escape the awkwardness everyone felt. Everyone finished up rather quickly and scurried off to their respected jobs.

Eric dumped the full water jugs off at the camp near the fire pit. He wiped off his hands on his pants and sat in front of the fire next to Melissa. She was filtering was water and has not noticed him yet.

"Hey," Eric said. Melissa looked over and sat him sitting close.

"Hey," Melissa answered with a hesitant smile. She hadn't caught up with Nathan yet to explain to him the apology Eric had issued to both him and Daley.

"How's the water filtering going?" Eric asked teasingly, making small talk while stretching out his arms. Constantly carrying water from the well made his arms stiff.

"Good," Melissa giggled. "How's lugging water?"

"Oh, tons of fun," Eric responded with a lopsided smile. "Just thought I'd take a brake from all the excitement to check in with you"

"Well thank you." Melissa grinned back at him. There was something about talking and fooling around with Eric that made her forget about the whole Taylor-and-Jackson-are-a-thing situation.

Eric got himself up and emptied the jugs of water he was carrying so that Melissa could boil them. He once again departed into the jungle. His and Melissa's exchanges tended to leave him in a good mood. He felt like that seventh grader again, taking drama class with Melissa and having her laugh at his cheesy impressions of celebrities. Having her laugh at his jokes was always so fulfilling to him, but he could never figure out why. Of course the whole point of his comedic actions was to entertain his audience but it never felt as good as anything else than when he could get Melissa to even crack a smile at his crazy antics. Eric, still thinking of Melissa, banged right into a brick wall. Or, at least, what he thought was a brick wall.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" An angry voice sounded off right after he hit the supposed brick wall. He looked around and noticed he banged right into Jackson. They had both fallen onto their asses and Jackson was nursing forehead which Eric had hit head on.

"Take it easy chief," Eric said nursing his forehead also. Jackson looked genuinely pissed but Eric tried not to let it faze him.

"Yeah, whatever," Jackson huffed while lifting himself off the ground.

Eric watched him walk away and had to wonder what Melissa saw in the guy. He was rude, had no sense of humor what so ever, and acted all aloof and secluded himself as much as possible. What Melissa needed what someone who could make her laugh, someone who could make her feel special and most of all, some one who could be there for her. Not some loose cannon who needed therapy. Seriously, the guy was messed up. Melissa needed some one who would cherish her, not some one who just pushes her aside like Jackson. Some one to appreciate that she's been using the same strawberry-vanilla shampoo since grade seven and although Eric knows that she uses the same shampoo as everyone else, her hair still smells like vanilla and strawberries. Eric doesn't know if it actually does or if he imagines it, but whenever the wind blows his direction when she's sitting beside her, the wind carries the scent of strawberries and vanilla straight from her hair. Whenever he smells it he always feels the same nostalgia and security. He knew that if he didn't act on his feelings now, Melissa may end up with the next "troubled" guy she sees.

**A/N: Again, I hope that wasn't too boring for you. I'm laying the ground work for some drama filled chapters. And I hope you don't mind my adding the sub-plot that Eric likes Melissa but I always felt like he did for some reason. So REVIEW!! **


	12. Chapter 12: Steamy Suspicion

Disclaimer- I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

Taylor looked around cautiously. After a quick scan of her surroundings she lifted the remote to be parallel to the video camera, and pressed play.

"So my latest plot hasn't had immediate results. Jackson hasn't even looked at me since dinner last night. Every time I try and catch his eye, I see him looking over at Melissa and Eric. I mean; what's up with that? What's so interesting about them? And I know what you're thinking: Jackson's jealous. But it's not even like that. Jackson doesn't even like Melissa. Trust me, I can tell. I'm really good at picking up those sorts of vibes. So anyway; Jackson is all distracted by them. Maybe I'll just find out what's so interesting about them myself…"

Taylor lifted the remote parallel to the camera again and pressed stop. She stood up and walked over the video camera. Hitting eject, she took out her tape then took the camera and walked back to camp. On her way back her mind drifted onto the thought of the whole Melissa-Eric-controversy. Maybe she'd ask around camp and she what the word of mouth was.

She arrived at the fire pit and saw Melissa drawing. She started to walk to the plane then paused. She did a double take of Melissa. Maybe she'd get her information straight from the horse's mouth.

'Hey Mel," Taylor greeted in a sugar sweet voice. Step one: butter her up.

"Taylor." Melissa said curtly never removing her eyes from her art.

"So how are things with you?" Taylor tried to sound concerned. People always like it when you ask them about themselves.

"Fine," Melissa looked up at Taylor. "Why?"

"No reason!" Taylor blurted defensively. She regained her posture. "I just wanted to know how you were dealing after the whole Nathan and Daley debacle. That's all."

"What would I be dealing with?" Melissa asked curiously.

"Oh, you know, just cause you and Nathan have been best friends since forever and you seemed just as surprised about Nathan and Daley as the rest of us. I was just wondering how you were dealing with the fact that Nathan kept that huge secret from you."

"Oh, that," Melissa said thoughtfully. She had almost forgotten about it but now that Taylor mentioned it; it really had upset her.

"You can talk to me," Taylor coaxed.

"Sure, and then you'll tell everyone my secrets over dinner." Melissa said passively.

Taylor huffed. This might be harder then she thought. "Look, I know that was really bitchy of me but I seriously feel horrible about it, honestly."

"Yeah, ok." Melissa said disbelievingly.

"Melissa, I really do feel horrible." Taylor looked Melissa directly in the eye and did her best I'm-so-sad-and-helpless face. Melissa fell for it immediately.

"Ok, I believed you." Melissa sighed.

Taylor smiled. "Good, now tell me what's on your mind."

"I can't"

"Why not?" Taylor huffed.

"Because," Melissa said lowering her eyes to the ground. "Ok fine, answer me this; what happened with you and Jackson at dinner last night?"

"He um… well actually we had a bit of a fight," Taylor frowned then smiled triumphantly. "Our first fight as a couple; can you believe it?"

"That's, uh, great Taylor." _Dang it, I really thought they broke up. _

"Yeah, I know," Taylor smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "So what's been up with you lately?"

"Not much I guess, other than the whole Nathan's-keeping-secrets thing."

"What about you and Eric?"

Melissa blushed briefly then shrugged it off. _What the hell did she have to be blushing for? After all, all she and Eric did was talk and joke around. Nothing to be blushing about at all… right?_

"Oh come on," Taylor said defiantly. "I've seen you two together. What are you two up to?"

"What do you mean 'up to'?" Melissa questioned.

"Oh come on, you two are totally hiding something."

Just then this conversation became must too transparent to Melissa. It was quite obvious that a) Taylor didn't feel bad about telling everyone about Daley and Nathan and b) Taylor thought there was a secret and just wanted to find out what it was. She didn't give a shit about what Melissa was dealing with.

"I've got to go" Melissa said standing up.

"Where?" Taylor shrieked. She was so _close._

"The bathroom."

"Alright," Taylor amended, plastering her sugary sweet smile on her face again. "We'll talk later."

Melissa stalked off into the jungle without looking back. _How dare she! Go after the guy I like then try to get information out of me. _Melissa brooded while unconsciously following the trail to the well. _And what the hell was she insinuating with the whole what-are-you-and-Eric-hiding campaign? She wasn't honestly implying there being anything romantic, was she? I mean, shouldn't she know by now that I like Jackson? Jeez is that girl thick!_

"Melissa!" She looked up and saw Eric jogging over to her.

"Oh Eric he-" Melissa was cutoff by his lip colliding with hers. She froze for a second then joined starting kissing him back. _What the hell are you doing Melissa? Weren't you just saying you liked Jackson?_

His tongue brushed against her bottom lip, asking for entrance to her mouth. She happily complied. His kiss was rough, full with passion. She let him take the lead as his tongue explored the inside of her mouth, massaging each new area he found. His armed snaked around her hips. She responded by putting her arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss and she felt the ecstasy. She took a fitful of his hair. An involuntary moan escaped her lips. Eric shivered with delight at the sound.

"Melissa, Eric?"

**A/N: Ohhh cliffhanger! So how did you like the chapter? Sorry it took me a while to update but I've been busy. Anyway, ****update**** so I get motivated and un-busy so I'll write more!**


	13. Chapter 13: Good Samaritain Keeps Mum

Disclaimer- I don't own flight 29 down or any of its characters

"You two are being totally irresponsible. I mean this could, or will rather, affect everyone. I don't even know what you two were thinking! You know everyone is gonna want a bite out of you two. And you know what? I won't even try and stop them!"

Melissa and Eric exchanged nervous glances. "You're not gonna tell anyone, are you?"

"I don't know Eric. How could I? I'm a sucky liar and you know it."

"Come on, please?" Melissa begged. "This was a one time thing; never going to happen again. Telling everyone one would just get them worked up over nothing."

Eric suppressed the urge to oppose. To breakdown and tell Melissa that he did hope it happened again. More than once. More than a million times if he got his way.

"Fine, I won't tell. But if anything ever happens like this ever again let's just say I won't be so eager to save you guys."

"Thanks Lex." Melissa breathed. She jumped up and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"Yeah, yeah. Just being Lex, the good Samaritan."

"Well, I guess we should get back to camp. Lunch is soon, right?" Eric offered awkwardly, eager to get away so he could get some breathing room and thing about what the hell just happened.

Melissa, Lex and Eric walked back along the path to main camp, where they were greeted by the rest of the survivors. Lunch was being prepared.

"Where were you guys for so long?" Taylor asked casually, obviously ready to read into their answer more than necessary.

"We got lost." Lex blurted nervously, already fazed by the secret he was now keeping from the rest of the group.

"All if you… on the water trail?" Nathan asked incredulously

"Um… no."

"No?"

"He means that I thought I heard something and dragged Eric and Lex out into the jungle with me. We went too deep in and got lost." Melissa amended.

"What was it?" Daley inquired.

"What was what?" Melissa looked at Daley with a confused expression.

"I mean, what was it that you heard? Did you find it?"

"Oh, that. Um… no. We never found it. It was probably just a hog or something. It was silly of me to get so worked up over it; false alarm." Melissa laughed nervously.

"So when's the grub ready?" Eric asked, doing his best to change the subject. He succeeded.

"Soon," Daley announced. "The fish that Jackson caught just has to cook through a bit more."

Eric, Melissa and Lex took a seat in their respected places around the fire pit. Melissa sat down back where she had left her drawing before stalking into the jungle. Lex sat beside Daley, who had positioned herself a fair distance from Nathan. How odd. Eric sat next to Jackson; an involuntary decision but it seemed to be the only seat left. A couple of minutes passed before Daley's shrill voice broke the uncomfortable silence that had settled amongst them.

"Lunch is ready!" Daley proclaimed cheerfully.

Fish and fruit were distributed equally to each of them. They ate their lunch in a more comfortable silence, accompanied by the harmonic rhythm of chewing sounds the crackle of the fire.

Everyone finished their lunch and went back to their jobs. Nathan caught Daley before she was able to make it back to the beach.

"Hey, what's been up with you?" Nathan questioned.

"What do you mean?" Daley asked knowing exactly what she meant.

"I mean ever since this morning you've been avoiding me like I have a flesh eating disease."

"First off: ew." Daley shuddered. Nathan shrugged, confident in the truth in his analogy. "And secondly, you deserve it."

Daley started walking away before Nathan caught her. "What do you mean I deserve it? What have I done since this morning to deserve you shunning me?"

"I mean you deserve it because you're just as bad as Taylor and Eric!" Daley explained.

"What? How?" Nathan asked more confused than he'd been before confronting Daley.

"Because you're happy about what they did! You're happy everyone knows!"

"No way! Why would you think that?" Nathan asked exasperated but slightly relieved she was mad at him for something that wasn't actually because of him.

"Because, well, because…" Daley paused to remember exactly how she'd come to her conclusion. Nothing came to mind.

"Daley," Nathan smiled. "I'm not happy about what happened. Did you see me at dinner? I nearly strangled Eric!"

"Now that you mention it, yeah; I do remember that."

"See?" Nathan laughed and wrapped him arms around her waist. "Now could you stop being so neurotic about everything and be happy? You deserve it."

"Ok," Daley smiled and gave him a peck. "You're right. Now I've gotta go do the laundry before Taylor kills me for not having her Fuchsia bathing suit washed for the prime sun hours. She'll want to tan."

"What's Fuchsia?" Nathan asked. Daley laughed, kissed him again, and then departed for the beach.

Jackson watched Nathan and Daley make up from a far. _Now if only I could grow a pair and finally talk to Melissa. _He looked over to the fire pit and saw Melissa sitting near the fire, once again working on her drawing. _It's now or never Jackson…_

**A/N: Well I hope you liked the chapter. I know some people hoped it was Jackson who would find Melissa and Lex but I couldn't resist little Lex having to get in on the drama for once. Plus, Jackson still not knowing will only add more drama and suspense it later chapters. Oh and sorry for the random stupidness of the Daley-Nathan relationship but it just seemed so Daley to go all crazy over something that wasn't even true. She just seems really neurotic to me. A lovable neurotic of course ******** So review for the next chapter!!!!**


	14. Chapter 14: Crazy as Bananas

_Disclaimer- I don't own flight 29 or any of its characters_

Jackson looked over at Melissa anxiously, trying to grasp exactly what he was going to say to her. I mean what was he going to say? 'Hey I know you thought me and Taylor were in love but she's actually just delusional and I actually like you, not her.' It just seemed too simple. Not to mention there was that whole task of Jackson having to say his feelings out loud, which was not an easy accomplishment for him. But still, here he was mulling over his words and egging himself on to go talk to her. Finally, he took a deep breath and walked over to the tree she was leaning against.

"Hey." He said simply.

She looked up at him confused, "Um, hi."

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened before."

Shit, shit, shit. Did he know about what happened with her and Eric? "W-what are you talking about?"

"About what Taylor told you," Jackson clarified.

"Oh, that. Don't even worry about it." Melissa said quietly. Of course she was really hurt about what transpired but she'd never tell him that.

"No, you don't understand. Me and Taylor aren't going out. I don't even like her." He explained desperately.

"What?" Melissa's mind was reeling.

"She thought I liked her and thought that was what I was trying to tell you. Of course I set her straight after she came back from running after you."

"Oh, I see." Melissa finally managed to choke out. She was inwardly doing the happy dance. Jackson didn't like Taylor!

"Yesterday, when I was talking to you, I wanted to tell you that I liked you." Jackson added. He sucked back a breath and waited for Melissa's response.

She smiled. "I like you too Jackson."

"So do you wanna… go out?" Jackson asked.

"Of course! I don't know what we'd do in the way of dates though." Melissa said thoughtfully.

"Oh don't worry, I'll think of something." Jackson said smiling to himself.

"Jaacckksssoooonn!" A voice called from camp.

"That sounds like Daley and she doesn't sound happy." Melissa said frowning.

"Yeah, I better go back to camp and see what she wants." Jackson said worriedly. A pissed off Daley was never good. He pecked Melissa on the cheek and jogged off to camp.

_He kissed me! _Melissa inwardly squealed. _Wait a second, we're going out now. What the hell am I gonna do about Eric? _She groaned. _Why is life so complicated?_ It wasn't like she liked Eric the same way she liked Jackson. She had like Jackson from the first time she had saw him. She'd known Eric since kindergarten and had never felt anything toward him, until now. She wasn't quite sure if she even liked Eric. She loved joking around with him and that was it. But then again, that kiss….

Lex sat in front of the fire place biting his nails. He was stressed, to say the least. He was now keeping this huge secret that could potentially break up the group. I mean, why wouldn't he be stressed? It was tearing him up inside to lie to everyone but he knew it was for their own good. He scanned the campsite anxiously for some miracle answer to his problems. Nothing. _Gee, thanks god._

"Hey Lex,"

"AHHH!" Lex yelled as he toppled over. _Where the hell had that voice come from?_ He looked around but saw nothing. "God?"

"I prefer goddess actually." The voice answered. Taylor immerged from behind the plane.

"Oh, it's you." Lex said quietly. _Well I feel stupid now…_

"Why are you so anxious lately?" She inquired.

"Anxious? You think I'm anxious? Do I look anxious?" Lex nervously babbled.

"Um yeah, you kind of do actually." Taylor answered, perplexed by Lex's strange behaviour.

"Oh, um, I think it's the bananas." Lex said quickly. _The bananas? Where the hell did that come from?_

"The bananas?" Taylor echoed.

"Yup. That's it. I've eaten way too much of them and they kind of make me go crazy. It's true, ask Daley. One day my mom packed bananas in my lunch then BAM there I was in Spanish class speaking to me teacher in French." Lex explained enthusiastically. He actually ended up looking like a mental person, spitting out the word 'bam' and using big hand gestures.

"Okkaayyy…" Taylor said backing up slowly. "I think I'm gonna go charge the batteries now."

Lex sighed. This secret keeping was clearly driving him crazy. He didn't know how long he could keep this up. He just hoped that if and when he told the secret, that the group could try thinking with their heads instead of being over dramatic, hormonal teenagers. He had the feeling though that if this secret got out, things would defiantly change.

**A/N: I would just like to point out the difference between the number of people who read this story and the number of those who review. Reviews are what keep me motivated and if I don't get any, I generally don't write. So please, review if you want this story to keep being updated. **


	15. Chapter 15: Truth and Conviction

_Disclaimer- I don't own flight 29 down_

Eric walked the beach in solemn confusion. He had thought the kiss he and Melissa had shared had been amazing. He hadn't stopped to think what the kiss would mean to Melissa. She had written it off to Lex as a one time thing and treated it as a mistake. Eric was not the kind of guy to get emotional but it made him feel like crap. He had put all his longing and pent-up love into that kiss and had it all thrown right back at him. He was sure that it'd solve everything. Looking back on his thought process now, it all seemed idealistic.

Eric walked back to camp having figured out few things from his walk. All he knew was that he had to talk to Melissa. She kissed him back which meant she did feel something; it was just a matter of what.

"Hey." Lex welcomed Eric as he entered camp. Lex was sitting beside the fire filtering water.

"Hey buddy." Eric responded with a warm smile. Lex was keeping his secret and his ego had taken too much of a blow for him to be sarcastic or snide.

"Eric." Nathan said coldly as he entered the camp. _Ah shit, he's still mad at me cause of the whole Taylor-and-me-telling-his-secret-over-dinner thing. _

"Could I ah, talk to you Nathan, in private?" Eric asked.

Nathan paused what he was doing and looked at him. "Why?"

"About what happened before," Eric answered vaguely, but knew Nathan would know what he was talking about.

"Fine." Nathan grunted and walked out into the jungle. Eric followed. They walked a reasonable distance into the lurid green terrain then stopped. "What about it?"

"Look, Taylor told me about it so I agreed to 'help her make a plan'. As soon as she was gonna tell everyone I realized she was doing it for ulterior motives and it was too late. I'm sorry, ok? It was a crappy thing to do."

"What ulterior motives?" Nathan questioned him.

"I don't know something to do with impressing Jackson or whatever. I don't know; chick stuff." Eric shrugged.

"Hmm, weird," Nathan noted thoughtfully. "Alright, I forgive you."

"Thanks man." Eric grinned. "Oh and will you pass it on to Daley; that I'm sorry I mean?"

"Sure." Nathan said.

They walked back to camp with a new sense of resolve. It wasn't until they came back to see the rest of the survivors yelling at each other that this feeling was gone.

"Wow guys chill!" Nathan bellowed trying to get their attention. "What's the matter?"

"Lex's keeping a secret and I want to know what it is!" Taylor screeched.

"He's already told you Taylor. He is not keeping a secret so drop it!" Daley furiously answered.

"I'm not dropping anything. The kids been chewing his fingernails all day long. When I asked him what was wrong he couldn't even look me in the eye! He's clearly keeping something from all of us!" Taylor yelled exasperated.

"Ugh!" Daley grunted. "Look Lex, just tell her you're not hiding anything ok?"

_Silence._

"Lex?" Daley asked nervously.

"See? He is hiding something!" Taylor proclaimed triumphantly.

"If Lex has something he wants to tell us, he'll tell as. Just lay off, ok Taylor?" Jackson bellowed.

Taylor shrank back. "Fine."

"Maybe we should just go back to doing our jobs." A timid Melissa offered.

"Sounds good to me," Taylor answered harshly as she stomped back to the beach to tan. It wasn't her job but at least it got her to go away.

Eric went back to lugging water and Nathan scurried off into the jungle to find fruit. Daley went to do some laundry. Lex continued to filter water. Melissa and Jackson were the only ones left not doing anything.

"Hey Mel, wanna go fishing?" Jackson asked her.

"Sure!" Melissa grinned. "Just let me get me sweater; it's chilly." She pecked him on the cheek and went to go find it.

Lex took note of their exchange. "Are you two dating?"

"Yup," Jackson grinned proudly.

"Oh, I see." Lex said thoughtfully. _Well, things just a lot more complicated. I wonder if Eric knows…?_

"Hey Jackson," Melissa breathed as she walked back to him. "I got my sweater."

"Sweet, let's go." Melissa and Jackson walked over to the rock pools that met the water down at the beach.

Lex looked pensively at the fire. He wondered what Melissa and Eric actually felt for each other. He was always taught that a kiss meant some sort of love or affection but seeing the way Melissa looked at Jackson, he didn't think he liked Eric in the same way. But when he was lecturing Melissa and Eric after the kiss, he had seen Eric look at Melissa that same way. He just hoped that everything wouldn't blow up in their faces. He might as well go tell Eric about Melissa and Jackson before he found out from a haughty Taylor…

**A/N: Really people? Two reviews? That's sad. I'll stop writing if I don't get more reviews. Feedback is what keeps me inspired to write. **


	16. Chapter 16: Shutup Taylor

"Hey Eric, wait up!" Lex called running after Eric who was walking with empty water jugs over to their well.

Eric paused and waited for Lex to catch up. "Come to tell me there's a cruise ship in the harbor hosting Hugh Heffner's birthday? And all the bunnies are in skimpy bikinis?"

"Um, no." Lex answered looking at Eric with a concerned expression. "I came to tell you about Melissa and Jackson."

"What about them?" Eric inquired lightly.

"They're kind of ah- together…" Lex sputtered nervously.

"Oh, cool." Eric answered with minimal enthusiasm.

"That's it? 'Oh, cool'?" Lex asked intently.

"Yup, that's it." Eric answered lightheartedly.

"So what? That kiss with Melissa was just a release for your stupid teenage hormones?" Lex was fed up with these teenagers and their irrational urges.

"I never said that."

"Then why don't you care?" He was beyond the point of understanding.

"Because, I never had a chance with her anyway." Eric answered dismissively.

Lex was dumbfounded. He didn't take Eric as the kind of guy to bow out respectfully. But it seemed to Lex (now he wasn't claiming to be an expert at this kind of stuff, not at all) that Melissa didn't seem to mind the kiss. Not at all. In fact, she seemed to be pretty in to it. _Ew, ok, this is Melissa and Eric I'm thinking about here. _But even still, Lex couldn't deny a certain chemistry they had.

"Look Eric, I may not know a lot about this kind of stuff, but I don't think you should write yourself off just yet. I think you have more of a chance with Melissa then you think."

"Oh yeah? And how do you figure that?" Eric asked amused.

"Jackson was with Taylor then just suddenly dumped her for Melissa. I like Jackson and I'm not judging but it kind of seems scummy to me. And it seems you really like Melissa."

"I don't _really like Melissa_." Eric said mimicking Lex's words. Lex gave him a look and Eric paused. "Come on man, you're making me sound like a girl."

"Fine, whatever. You think she's a 'hot chick'. Say it whatever way you want." Lex responded with sarcasm regarding to typical teen vernacular.

Eric laughed. "Thanks buddy."

"No problem. I gotta get back to filtering water before Daley has a cow."

Lex ran off down the water trail back off to camp. Eric rethought his initial assumptions about his relationship with Melissa and figured it was worth a shot.

"Hey Day." Nathan smiled as he came up to the spot on the beach she was doing her laundry on.

"Hey what's up?" She smiled back at him.

"It's Melissa and Jackson. They're going out."

"Really?" Daley exclaimed.

"Yeah she just told me. Can you believe it? So much for no relationships on the island." Nathan answered smiling to himself.

"Who told you?" Daley inquired.

"Mel did, just now. The lovebirds just went fishing." Nathan laughed at his nickname for them.

"That reminds me." Daley said as she rose to her feet and wraped her arms around Nathan's neck. "When are we gonna do something, just me and you?"

Nathan smiled devilishly. "We could go out to our clearing right now."

"I'll meet you there in five. Just gotta finish washing Lex's shirt."

"Kay." Nathan smiled sheepishly and jogged up to the tree line at the top of the beach.

"I think you're better at fishing than I am." Jackson noted in awe as he looked at the huge fish Mel had just caught.

Melissa giggled. "I think I'm _much _better at fishing than you."

"Well I guess I'll have to take you out fishing with me more often." Jackson smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you will." Melissa responded smiling as well.

"You!" A screech called from down the beach. An extremely pissed off Taylor was storming towards their direction. "You slut!"

"What? Me?" Melissa asked weakly.

"Yes you!" Taylor was fuming.

"Taylor, chill." Jackson said defensively.

"Ha, as if." Taylor laughed to herself. "I don't even know how you could be remotely attracted to this hoe bag." Taylor said motioning to Melissa.

"Look Taylor there's no need to be rude. I'm sorry that you misinterpreted my feelings towards you but that's no excuse to be rude to Melissa." Jackson calmly explained.

"Misinterpreted? Is you pulling moves on me and me thinking you _liked _me misinterpreting?" Taylor laughed cynically.

"Moves?" Melissa asked quietly.

"Oh yeah," Taylor answered. "You should have seen the crap he pulled on me."

"Taylor, enough." Jackson thundered.

Taylor looked at Melissa and smiled. "If you want to know, come ask me anytime."

Taylor turned, walked, and then paused. "Oh and congrats, Nathan told me about your newfound love for each other. Hope it lasts."

She flipped her hair and sauntered back to the camp site.

**A/N: Relationships will be tested as new drama unfolds. When information comes out in the next chapter everyone will have to choose between bad or good, yes or no. Where will the divide be? Will the survivors ever be the same again? Review for a quick update!**


End file.
